Should AEW Stop Referencing WWE During Their Shows?

Should AEW continue to reference WWE, or is it just dragging the promotion down?

While promoting his new movie Girl on the Third Floor, former WWE champion (and namesake to the chants that still pop up now and again during RAW, SmackDown, as well as WWE pay-per-views when fans get a tad bored) CM Punk recently expressed his opinion on All Elite Wrestling (AEW) continually referring to the WWE in their programming during an interview with Screen Rant’s Zak Wojnar.

"“I think AEW needs to focus on themselves and stop talking about WWE. Cody and The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley, all those guys have something great going on. I just think it lessens and cheapens what they are doing when they constantly attack WWE. There hasn’t been an alternative to WWE in so very long, and I think they do a disservice to themselves when they’re trying to be the alternative but constantly bring up WWE.”"

Fans of AEW know that there have been multiple WWE references on Dynamite, as well as AEW PPVs. From World Champ Chris Jericho implying weeks ago that the “We the People” catchphrase Jake Hager had was not the best creative idea from the WWE, to Cody Rhodes taking shots at their rival company this past week, AEW continually teases a cold war between them and WWE.

But is Punk right in his statement above? Should AEW stop making references to the WWE during its programming all together? Are they focusing too much on what Vince and the crew are doing? Are they promoting their rival brand in some ways? Does make them look like they are continually attacking their “competition”?

It’s hard to ignore that the crowd does pop whenever something of this nature occurs.

Here’s my take. To be frank, the reason why the references get such a huge reaction is because there is such a buzz around AEW right now.

It’s been a long while since WWE has had any direct competition, and with fans talking about a silent war of such all over social media, there is nothing viewers love more than the “elephant in the room” being pointed at, addressed, and even poked at.

Remember when Sami Zayn referenced “AEW” during a RAW post Double or Nothing this past May when he took part in an “Electric Chair” promo where fans could ask him “anything”? The live crowd burst at the seams, and Twitter exploded.

Even Randy Orton’s recent teasing around jumping ship, tagging a slew of other WWE superstars, to the AEW on social media has gotten attention by not only fans, but wrestling media everywhere.

At the end of the day, it adds a little shock value. It perks up the fans in the crowd and at home; it creates some buzz.

Having said that, if it is done each and every week, and at every PPV, like anything else, it can become stale over time; coming off as a way to get a cheap pop, and lessens AEW’s content, which has been pretty on point as of late.

So, should AEW keep referencing the WWE in their programming? I say, yes (and dare I say it would be nice for the WWE to acknowledge AEW now and again); however, if either company consistently does this, then the entire concept will simply lack luster.

It won’t be shocking or borderline controversial, it’ll simply feel like the same-old, same-old, which wrestling fans in general are tired of.